Media streaming provider Roku is going to start producing its own original content.
Roku Originals will feature scripted and unscripted entertainment and documentaries. Shows will be free to watch. More details are expected in May before Originals launch later this year on the Roku Channel, which currently features licensed TV shows and movies.
Roku Originals will initially feature content from Quibi, the now-defunct streaming service the company acquired in January. All Quibi content is getting rebranded as Roku Originals. In total, "more than 75 Roku Originals, including a dozen unreleased series," will debut on the upcoming channel, the company added.
Roku is best known for dongles and media streamers that provide a platform to watch your favorite streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max on big-screen TVs. But at the same time, the company itself offers licensed TV shows and movies through the Roku Channel, which anyone can tune into for free, provided you can handle a few ad breaks.
It seems the company sees an opportunity to pull in more advertising revenue by developing original content. The Roku Channel doubled its user base from a year ago to 63 million households during 2020’s fourth quarter.
In February, Roku hinted that it would produce original content with a job post for an attorney to draft and negotiate agreements to “hire writers, actors, directors and individual producers.”